Where to even begin? World Race Training Camp, WOW! The short and simple version, God moved on so many levels, He is real, He is alive. The community is amazing, and I now have 44+ new friends!
Pictured below is my team…The Tribe! From left to right we have Cat, Ellie, Mil, Savannah, Chi, Me (Abbey), Brittney, and Kate…not pictured is our team leader Kyla. These women are women of God, they are all unique and have unbelievable relationships with our Lord. I am so thankful that God placed me with these girls, they have taught me SO much! These ladies were complete strangers at the beginning of these 10 days, and I am not going to lie I was like there is no way I’ll get close with them in just 10 days. Guess what? I was wrong! These ladies are now my family.
Below is my squad there are 45 racers plus we have all kinds of leaders and mentors, and again I am pleased to say this is my family! The encouragement and love that comes from these people cannot be put into words and I am so excited to do life with them and serving our Lord for nine months.
When it comes to training camp I do not even know where to begin there is seriously so much and if I tried to write about it all, this blog would be 20+ pages long.
Training camp is one of the longest things I have ever experienced we were all joking saying “day 94 here at training camp…” when in reality we had made it to day 3. Training camp is TOUGH, its not rainbows and sunshine…in fact it rained HEAVILY almost daily, but that’s beside the point. Although it was a hard, extensive experience and I ended up sick it was so beyond worth it, and God revealed to me that this WAS meant to be.
First things first, we lived in our tents, and we packed up all our gear almost every morning. We had bucket showers, which means you fill up a bucket with a water hose and use a measuring cup to dump water on yourself, it was freezing, but felt amazing in the Georgia heat. We had worship everyday and this was a bone shaking experience, when you have 300 people crammed into a room on fire for God you can REALLY feel Him move. I learned that being vulnerable isn’t a terrible thing, in fact it is one of the stronger things you could do. There were moments I was uncomfortable, and I was pushed out of my comfort zone, but man those moments taught me more than I could have ever dreamed possible.
There are also sleeping scenarios, one night they mimic an airport and say you have a layover and that is where you are sleeping. Another you sleep in community tents which are just big tents and you pile in, I think we had around 12+ in every tent. The last scenario was lost luggage, so they say you just got off your flight and the airlines lost your luggage you partner with someone who still has their luggage and you now sleep with them in their tent as well as use their clothes.
All in all, this experience has been like no other and its barely even started. I just want to thank everyone for all the love, support and prayers! I am truly blessed beyond all measures!